Good partnership: Squash Racquet Association of Federal Terittory Kuala Lumpur (SRAFTKL) president and organising chairman Steven Kwan (left) receiving the mock cheque from REDtone Digital Berhad Group chief executive officer Lau Bik Soon.
PETALING JAYA: The upcoming Kuala Lumpur (KL) International Junior Championships will serve as a good stepping stone for young squash players to gain more experience and fare well in their sports career.
The Platinum-level tourney, considered the largest junior squash event in Asia and the second-largest globally after the US Junior Open, is scheduled to take place at three different venues – Jalan Duta Squash Courts in Kuala Lumpur, Sky Arena at Air Panas, Setapak and Astaka Squash Courts in Petaling Jaya – starting next Tuesday.
A new record has been established with a total of 900 entries from 15 regular countries – Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, United States of America and hosts America – along with six newcomers – Bangladesh, Canada, Holland, Kuwait, the Philippines and Thailand, marking the first time to reach this milestone after the 2019 edition, which had 860 entries.
Squash Racquet Association of Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur (SRAFTKL) president and organising chairman Steven Kwan believes that there are more young talents waiting to be unearthed and nurtured to serve as backup players for the current crop.
“Our latest achievement was our KL player, Ng Eain Yow, who won the gold medal in the men’s individual event at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Rachel Arnold, a member of the ladies’ team, also won gold,” said Steven at the press conference and mock cheque presentation at IOI Business Park in Puchong, Selangor yesterday.
“We see some potential in a few very young ones coming up, but as for now, we really cannot be sure of it because it depends on how they move up their ranks.
“As long as all the states carry out junior programme, we will never fail (to produce backup players for the current crop) as squash is one of the sports that consistently develops good players.
Source: The Star